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[-] Fondots@lemmy.world 66 points 17 hours ago

Not quite, it's an international sign that a vessel is in distress.

Then mostly right wing lunatics co-opted it to mean that our country is in distress.

[-] TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world 40 points 17 hours ago* (last edited 17 hours ago)

Which they co-opted from protesters in the 60's, rallying against the Vietnam war, which they co-opted from the Revolutionary war, where (allegedly, much harder to source), the revolutionaries also flew the Union Jack inverted. Its history to mean insurrection in the US is as old as the US.

Its been used in many other instances internationally, and yes, also at sea with a much deeper history to signal distress. Regardless, the pedantry is both technically and figuratively misplaced.

[-] wjrii@lemmy.world 32 points 16 hours ago

which they co-opted from the Revolutionary war, where (allegedly, much harder to source), the revolutionaries also flew the Union Jack inverted.

If they did, I assume a half dozen vexillology enthusiasts with good eyesight got very concerned.

[-] Bronzebeard@lemm.ee 15 points 16 hours ago

also flew the Union Jack inverted

How could they tell?

[-] spizzat2@lemm.ee 8 points 16 hours ago* (last edited 16 hours ago)

international

How does that work for a ship from a country like Cuba?

Do they hang it backward? I.e. With the red arrow pointing toward the pole?

What about Japan?

[-] prole 1 points 10 hours ago

I could be mistaken, but I think that was a consideration when designing the stars and stripes. The colors and lack of symmetry make it easy to see its orientation from a distance.

this post was submitted on 05 Feb 2025
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